Song · Santigold
“L.E.S. Artistes” by Santigold
From the album Santogold (2008)
“L.E.S. Artistes” by Santigold appears on 15 radio countdowns from 12 stations between 2008 and 2026. It was first released in 2008 on the album Santogold. Its best result is #21 on the KWOD Top 106 Songs of 2008. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #86 alternative song of 2008.
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Video from YouTube (Santigold). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"L.E.S. Artistes" came out in 2008, when Santi White still went by Santogold, and it shared first-single billing with "Creator" off her self-titled debut. She wrote it with John Hill after moving to New York City, and the title spells out its target: the Lower East Side's artists, or rather the ones faking it. White has described it as a jab at the scenesters and hipsters who care more about being seen than making anything, and she made a point of saying the title has nothing French about it.
Diplo and Jonny "Most" Davis produced it, and the song got around fast: an edit of the XXXChange Mix soundtracked a Mark Romanek-directed Ford Flex ad in June 2008, and it turned up in the Band Hero and NHL 08 video games.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 37 | 88Nine Radio Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI | 88Nine Radio Milwaukee Top 100 Songs of 2008 | 100 |
| 2008 | 35 | KSLG Eureka (Humboldt County), CA | KSLG Top 94 of 2008 | 94 |
| 2008 | 21 | KWOD Sacramento, CA | KWOD Top 106 Songs of 2008 | 106 |
| 2008 | 43 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2008 | 103 |
| 2008 | 30 | WXPN Philadelphia, PA | WXPN Year in Review: Top 100 Songs of 2008 | 100 |
| 2008 | 57 | Triple J Australia (national) | Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 417 | WTMD | WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 | 896 |
| 2023 | 768 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places | 800 |
| 2024 | 192 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2024 | 591 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
| 2024 | 570 | WXPN | WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) | 885 |
| 2025 | 142 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2025 | 634 | WYEP | WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) | 714 |
| 2026 | 482 | KXT | KXT 917 Song Countdown | 917 |
| 2026 | 426 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound | 1055 |
Also listed as: L.e.s. Artistes; LES Artistes; L.E.S Artistes.
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